The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and, more particularly, to a flying wing VTOL aircraft.
Aircraft missions often require VTOL capability that is combined with long range and endurance and can be very demanding. Conventional configurations of such aircraft are designed primarily for efficient forward flight, for efficient vertical lift or a poor compromise solution. Alternatively, some configurations include tilt-wing or tilt-rotor features and have VTOL capabilities, long range and endurance but pay a high penalty in terms of complexity and higher empty weight. That is, a conventional tilt-wing aircraft carries an oversized fuselage for an inertial navigation system (IRS) and attack payloads.
A solution to the problem of tilt-wing aircraft being complex and heavy may involve the elimination of the fuselage and creation of a twin rotor flying wing VTOL configuration. However, utilizing conventional tilt-wing control architectures would require vertical and horizontal tails with respective elevator and rudder controls. These tails make folding the wings difficult and adversely affect stowage capability of the aircraft.